Alistair was lecturing her. Again. Elspeth didn't really mind; in fact, if she closed her eyes she could almost imagine that the other warden's nagging voice was Fergus's.

"I mean running up to a hurlock and yelling, 'bite me' is beyond irresponsible! It's stupid, and reckless, and…why are you smiling like that?"

Elspeth's grin only widened as she opened her eyes and saw Alistair's face twisted into a comical mixture of fury and confusion. "Sorry," she said, not particularly repentantly. "For a moment there you sounded just like my older brother."

He sighed. "Did he ever have any luck getting you to listen to reason?"

"No," she replied cheerfully. "He did give me my first sword though. I'd never seen my mother so angry. At first I thought she was actually…going…to…" her voice trailed off, the laughter fading from her eyes as she remembered the last time she had seen her mother. Alistair knew the feeling.

"I'm sorry," he said gently. "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories."

Elspeth shook her head. "It's not your fault," she replied softly.

Both were silent for a moment, staring into the fire; then Alistair asked hesitantly, "Are you…going to be all right?"

Her expression hardened. "Ask me again when Rendon Howe lies choking on his own blood."